


Tattoos Like Mile Markers

by Anonymous



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amnesia, F/F, Reunions, Romance, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:53:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Echo wakes up in the hospital to discover she has lost seven years of her memory. Where did all these tattoos come from? And who is the strange woman in her hospital room?Troped March Madness Qualifying RoundFocus Character: EchoTheme: RomanceTropes: Amnesia AU and Tattoos
Relationships: Echo/Niylah (The 100)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: TROPED: Madness 2.0





	Tattoos Like Mile Markers

  
  


Echo was aware of  _ pain _ when she opened her eyes. Her head throbbed and felt unbelievably tender. She moved her hand up to touch the spot on the back of her head that seemed to be the source of her misery,

“Ouch,” she hissed as she pulled her hand back.

A shuffle from the corner announced the presence of another person in the room. It sounded like a chair scraping over worn tiles. Before Echo can make heads or tails of anything at all, a blonde woman has come up to her side, looking sleep deprived and a little frantic. 

“Thank God you’re awake,” the woman said, wringing her hands in front of her, as if she wanted to reach out and touch Echo but was afraid to do so. 

Echo opened her mouth to ask who she was and why she seemed to care so much about her, but before she could formulate the words, the woman turned toward the door.

“I’m going to go get the nurse, be right back, love.”

The door closed with a click and Echo looked at it a little bit dumbfounded. 

Did the stranger say  _ love? _

What in the ever loving fuck was going on?

~~~

When the nurse entered the room, followed closely by the mystery woman, Echo was anything but relieved. She still did not understand what was going on. If anything, she felt even more confused. Nevertheless she complied with the nurse’s instructions to facilitate her assessment. While the nurse was examining Echo’s pupils, shining a small flashlight in each eye, a young doctor bustled into the room, his white coat disheveled.

“Good morning, I see you’re finally awake,” the doctor said with a smile that was undeniably friendly but did nothing to assuage Echo’s feelings of complete and utter terror.

“What happened?” Echo asked, unable to help herself from looking at the still strange woman out of the corner of her eye.

“You had an accident,” the doctor explained in a factual voice. “Apparently you were rock climbing and took a bad step, lost your balance, then fell and struck your head. You immediately lost consciousness, and were brought to the hospital. This is the first time you've been awake since your fall.” The doctor looked at the floor before glancing up to catch Echo’s eye again.

“What?” Echo asked. “Wait. How long ago did I fall?”

“Two days ago,” was the doctor’s solemn response. 

“Two days?” Echo gasped, shocking herself with how distraught she sounded. She had always prided herself on being exceptionally level headed, refusing to let anything get to her or to show any outward emotion. For some reason though, it all flew out the window.

“I know it’s a lot to take in,” the doctor acknowledged, stepping a little closer to the bed. “We have done a full workup, and everything seems to check out. You have an impressive bump on the back of your head, but your MRI and CT scan were clear.” A sniffle from the other side of the room reminded Echo that there was more than just her and the doctor in the room privy to her emotional state and private medical information. The blonde woman was being comforted by the nurse. Why was she being comforted? Echo forced herself to concentrate on the doctor’s words. One problem at a time merited her focus.

“But  _ two days _ ?” Echo repeated, hating how desperate she sounded.

“It’s not unusual with head injuries,” the doctor continued. “Now what I want to do is ask a few questions to see how you’re doing now that you’re awake.”

Echo nodded, mostly because she didn’t feel as though there were another option as she continued to process the information the physician had given to her. 

“What is your name?” 

Echo scoffed out loud. Is he serious? 

“Echo Reva.” She answered in a voice laced with more disdain than she intended, but hey, she’s had a bad day.

“Good,” the doctor smiled at her, clearly unperturbed by her sassy response.

“And do you know where you are?”

“A hospital. Clearly.” Echo was already tired of this game. 

Again, the doctor smiled. “And what year is it?”

Echo rolled her eyes, she literally could not help it. How stupid did they think she was?

“2012,” she answered with absolute certainty. “It’s May 10, 2012. Or, well, I guess it was two days ago, or before I went rock climbing. I still can’t believe I was rock climbing in the first place, I’ve never done that -”

A sob stopped Echo’s ramblings immediately and she turned to the source of the noise. The blonde woman had come completely apart, she was openly crying now, her eyes red and watery. None of this made sense at all.

“Who are you anyway?” Echo called out, not unkindly she thought,but the woman began crying even more uncontrollably.

The doctor finally interrupted the scene, looking at Echo with a level of  _ pity _ that made her blood run ice cold. “Echo, this is Niylah, your wife. And it’s not 2012, today’s date is October fourth of 2019.”

Echo heard the bit about how she had lost seven-and-a-half fucking years, really she did, and she  _ would  _ come back to that she promised herself. But in this moment all her mind could wrap around was the word  _ wife.  _ She also meant to be a lot less of a spastic conversationalist, but right now her world felt like it was literally caving in around her, and nothing made any sense. So it was to her absolute lack of surprise when the first words out of her mouth were, “But I’m not a lesbian!"

~~~

Three hours after the disastrous conversation in which Echo realized that she had lost over seven years of her memory, and that she was  _ married to a woman _ , she finally saw a face she actually recognized.

“Emori! Thank goodness!” Echo couldn’t help the excitement in her voice when she saw her best friend.

Emori rushed over to the bed, leaned down, and wrapped her arms around Echo in a comforting hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Echo,” Emori said, “we’ve all been so worried. John, Raven, Monty, Harper, and of course…”

Emori trailed off awkwardly, and Echo assumed she was going to mention Niylah, the blonde stranger who was her apparent wife. Now that Emori was so close, Echo could see the subtle hints of aging on her friend’s face. There are new lines and minute wrinkles, her eyes look tired as if she hasn’t slept for years, and there are sprinkles of gray hair threading through the otherwise dark color.

“How long have I been…” Echo couldn’t even bring herself to say the word  _ married.  _ Hell, last she knew she wasn’t even dating someone.

“Married?” Emori guessed, “Almost two years now.”

Echo exhaled shakily, still in disbelief at the whole situation. 

“You doing okay?” Emori asked, her voice still as kind as Echo remembered, and that was a positive from the day that she was going to hold on to. Because Echo was not okay, and she didn’t know if she ever would be.

~~~

Echo didn’t get any more visitors, which suited her fine. She was tired of all the reminders that she had lost seven years of her life, especially since life had clearly changed so drastically.

She called the nurse after a few more minutes of musing, when her bladder decided it absolutely could not wait a minute longer. The nurse made it clear that Echo would require assistance to the bathroom, since her muscles were bound to be a bit weak, nevermind all the medications she had been on. It was humiliating, on top of everything else, that she had to be taken to the bathroom like a toddler. But she had been warned about the bed alarm (another terrible mortification she had been faced with) and she had no interest in irritating the medical staff.

Echo immediately said a silent thanks to herself for listening to the nurse when she tried to stand and almost fell over. Clearly, the indignities of the day had only just started. It felt much longer than the few seconds it had taken to shuffle across the hospital floor like an invalid with a nurse clutching her elbow to reach the bathroom. She required even more assistance, and tried to disconnect from the part of her brain that was making her feel embarrassed.

After she finished and washed her hands, the nurse brought a new gown and suggested Echo would feel better in clean clothes. Unable to dispute the idea that changing her gown (as hideous as it may be) would make her feel undeniably better, Echo complied. As she was letting the nurse help her, standing close to the sink in case she needed additional support, Echo caught sight of herself in the mirror and let out a squeak of surprise. There, on the right side of her abdomen, halfway between where her breast stopped and her hip began, was a gorgeous tattoo.

“What the hell?” Echo said without thinking of where she was and the sensibilities of her current companion.

The nurse was clearly startled. “What’s wrong?” Her voice was immediately tinged with concern.

“I have a tattoo!” Echo blurted out. “I’m terrified of needles. I don’t have any tattoos.”

The nurse caught Echo’s eye in the mirror. “You have quite a few tattoos. I guess they’re all recent.”

Echo’s eyes widen and she turns, trying to examine her body from all other angles. The nurse cautioned her against moving too suddenly, and Echo acquiesced and returned her gaze to the abdominal tattoo. There was a bow with the string pulled back, but no arrow in sight. The bow, and the vines intertwining it, were a clean black and white while the heart above the bow was a bright red. There was also a string of words (black letters only) running vertically up the side of the bow, that read  _ and you love all my dark _ . Echo scoffed at the phrase as it was not even a full sentence.

~~~

Two days after she woke up, Echo was discharged from the hospital. She assumed she would be going home to her small one bedroom apartment, and was abruptly reminded of the reality of the situation when Emori showed up with Niylah in tow. The blonde woman looked more subdued than the last time Echo saw her, but her eyes were haunted. She tried to plaster a smile on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

Emori, who read the room perfectly like always, sensed the tension and immediately intervened. “Niylah, would you get the bags, while I get Echo situated in the wheelchair.”

“I can walk,” Echo tries to say, but Emori interrupted her.

“Not a chance, if you fall on your way out of this hospital it’s a lot of paperwork for the nurses. You’ll be wheeled out and then once we get to the car you can show off your walking skills.”

Echo couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re so bossy, you know that?”

Emori flashed a smile, “I get told pretty much every day.”

Niylah looked up and stared at Echo with an indecipherable expression, but remained silent.

~~~

The car ride home was quiet, save for the gentle music from the car’s speakers and Emori’s efforts to make conversation. Niylah sat in the back seat, staring out the window after suggesting Echo take the front seat. 

Emori eventually pulled up to a small but beautifully maintained house after a short drive. The house had what looked like two separate entrances, each framed by windows. “I live here?” Echo asks, and she wonders if she would ever get used to being surprised by her life. 

“ _ We _ live here,” Niylah said softly, her first words since leaving the hospital.

“Technically we all do,” Emori said as she put the car in park and shut off the engine.

Echo cocked her head at Emori, silently asking for an explanation.

“It’s a duplex,” Emori answered. “Niylah and you live on one side, and John and I live on the other.”

“And -” Niylah started to speak, but at the sharp look from Emori changed her mind and the woman moved to get out of the car.

“And what?” Echo asked curiously, but Emori didn’t answer.

Setting her bags down in the living room that was obviously hers but also completely foreign was yet another thing that made Echo’s heart squeeze uncomfortably. There was a homey feeling to the room, the worn couches and chairs scattered throughout looked well-loved and there were framed pictures on most of the walls. The two windows were bordered by gauzy white curtains that let the afternoon sunlight stream in.

But Echo felt like she was looking at someone else’s life. She stepped up to a large framed picture of her and Niylah, on what is their wedding day judging by their outfits, hanging proudly above the couch.

“That was a good day,” Niylah said behind her, and Echo couldn’t help but jump in response. She hadn’t realized how close the other woman was to her.

Echo couldn’t figure out what to say, either what she wanted to say or what she should say. She didn’t want to hurt Niylah, but she also didn’t know her. Or so her brain would have her believe. Judging by the pictures on the wall Echo knew her quite well.

“I have to get home for a bit,” Emori said, interrupting the awkward moment, for which Echo was overwhelmingly grateful. “Are you going to be okay, Echo?”

Echo nodded, even though she doesn’t believe herself. She felt like an imposter, and didn’t want to say or do the wrong things.

“Thank you for everything,” Niylah said with a very small smile, “I think we are okay for now.”

Then Emori left, and it was just Echo and the wife she didn’t remember.

~~~

Dinner was awkward. Niylah didn’t say much, though it was clear by the way she stopped and stared at Echo every so often, that she wanted to. Echo didn’t say anything either, but mostly because she didn’t know what  _ to  _ say. 

After the meal was over, both plates mostly untouched, Niylah finally spoke. “I, uh,” she started nervously, “I made up the guest room for you. The doctor suggested it might be better to not overwhelm you right now. That, um, even though I remember everything, I am effectively a stranger to you.”

Echo nodded, unwilling to verbalize how relieved she was. The idea of how she was going to live alongside her wife that she didn’t know a thing about had been on the forefront of her mind ever since she had been given her discharge orders.

Niylah started to walk away, then stopped and turned, brought her hand to her forehead. “Sorry. I forgot you probably don’t know where the guest room is.”

“Or any room, really,” Echo answered, probably quite unhelpfully.

Niylah smiled ever so slightly, and it was the first time Echo had seen something of a positive emotion on the other woman’s face. “You still speak the same,” she told Echo by way of explanation.

“At least something hasn’t changed,” Echo replied.

~~~

Emori gave Echo one full day to be home from the hospital, and then showed up with some of their friends in tow. Echo was delighted to see Monty and Harper, Raven, and of course Emori.

“Where’s Murphy?” Echo asked once everyone had piled into the living room, melting into the couches and chairs as if it was as normal as breathing to come over and claim this space.

Everyone exchanged a glance that set Echo’s heart to beating erratically. “What?” She couldn’t help the anxiety now freely coursing through her - when, she wondered, would she stop being surprised by how much had changed without her knowledge.

“He’s fine,” Emori said quickly, placing a comforting hand on Echo’s knee, “don’t worry. He just had something he had to do.”

Echo nodded, but still didn’t feel particularly reassured but the explanation. The side glances everyone passed back and forth told her more than she needed to know.

Niylah entered the room then, coming from the master bedroom where she had been getting ready. She greeted everyone kindly, before taking a seat on a vacant chair, across the room from Echo.

“How are you doing?” Raven asked, blessedly taking the attention off of Emori and whatever awkwardness had transpired.

“I’m...okay?” Echo answered, though it sounded like a question even to her own ears. Which, if she was being honest with herself was only fair. She still didn’t know how she fit into this new life and new identity that she had apparently spent seven years cultivating only to completely lose in one afternoon of rock climbing.

Everyone nodded, as if they didn’t believe her, but didn’t know what else to say.

“What’s new with everyone?” Echo asked, hoping to take the attention off herself while also trying to make sense of these new versions of the friends she had once known.

As if relieved by Echo’s question, everyone began updates of their lives over the last seven years. Raven worked full time as a tattoo artist, which both made perfect sense and surprised her all at the same time. She wondered to herself if that explained the sudden appearance of tattoos on her skin. Monty and Harper were thrilled to tell Echo they had gotten married a year earlier and were expecting their first child in the spring. This surprised Echo, as she still thought of herself and all of her friends as kids fresh out college.

Emori began to talk, but was quickly interrupted by her phone ringing. She answered it, standing up to take the call in a different room, but Echo could hear Murphy’s voice on the other line. She and Murphy had always had a more or less antagonistic relationship (as he did with pretty much everyone except Emori) but she still felt a pang of loss at the fact that she hadn’t seen him since her reentry into her normal life that was anything but normal.

Emori’s voice could be heard from the other room, and as much as Echo tried not to eavesdrop she couldn’t help but be overwhelmingly curious as to what was going on and why Murphy hadn’t come over. The fact that everyone assembled was looking nervously from Echo to the room that Emori had disappeared to, wasn’t helping Echo’s nerves at all.

Harper and Raven tried to make small talk with Echo while Niylah picked at a stray string.

Emori finally came back to her seat, pocketing the phone as she did so. The worry lines on her face were stretched tight, and Echo felt her heart squeeze painfully. “What is it?” She asked with a sinking feeling. Echo had dealt with enough bad news for one day.

“There’s something else that happened in the last seven years,” Emori said, so hesitantly that it made Echo’s already tense heart beat even more harshly.

“Something more surprising than me marrying a woman?” Echo said without thinking, then winced at Niylah’s expression.

Emori shot Echo an exasperated look, such as one a mother would send a disobedient child. “Something in my life, but still something that affects your life quite a bit.”

Echo was so tired of her life being turned upside down, but she bit her bottom lip and schooled her face into an emotionless mask. “What is it, Emori?”

Everyone else in the room had gone still and silent, waiting to hear Echo’s reaction. When the doorbell sounded, everyone’s expressions became markedly more tense. Had it not been one more potential bombshell on Echo’s life, she would have laughed. Emori got up to answer the door, and Echo felt every muscle in her body tense completely while she waited. 

She heard Murphy’s voice in the entryway, apologetic and a little exasperated. Before Echo could react any further though, a force of energy and dark hair barrelled into the room and climbed up onto her lap, chattering away in rapid fire sentences. It took Echo all of two seconds to realize this was a kid, a fairly small kid, who had crashed into her with the familiarity of someone who spent a lot of time with her.

Echo had never been a fan of children - they were too loud, too messy, too wildly unpredictable, and when she finally tore her gaze from the child to catch the eyes of her friends she was unsurprised to see an edge of concern on their faces.

“Echo! Echo! Echo! I missed you!” The little girl said excitedly, bouncing up and down, holding Echo’s hands in hers. 

Echo didn’t want to disappoint the strange little girl, but she also didn’t have a single idea what to say. “Missed you too, kiddo,” was what she went with, and it seemed to work. The little girl rewarded her with a huge smile, showing a row of perfect baby teeth. Echo could feel rather than see when the group let out a collective breath.

“Alright, Lyra,” Emori said then, appearing next to the child, who Echo realized with sudden clarity,  _ had  _ to be her and Murphy’s daughter. “You’ve seen Echo, now can you go back home with daddy?”

The little girl stomped her foot and glared, looking so much like Murphy that Echo couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t wanna go home! I wanna stay with Echo.”

“Echo bumped her head, remember?” Emori said, unwaveringly patient, “and she needs to rest.”

The little girl - Lyra, Echo reminded herself - mulled her mother’s words over, her bright blue eyes flashing as she decided her next course of action. “Okay,” she finally said, “but can I come take care of Echo tomorrow?”

Everyone laughed, clearly this little girl had everyone wrapped around her tiny little finger. “Of course you can, sweetheart,” Emori agreed, “as long as Echo is okay with that.”

~~~

Echo’s first week back at her house that still didn’t quite feel like her home continued in the routine established on her first day. She and Niylah coexisted. Niylah gave her space, but couldn’t entirely hide her glances of longing. Emori dropped by, sometimes with Lyra and Murphy, and talked to her about events of the last seven years. 

Echo saw the doctors, but grew more and more frustrated as nothing they suggested did anything to help restore her memory. She still woke up everyday thinking it was 2012, only to be reminded of how much had changed.

One evening, after Emori had gone back next door to her own family, Echo situated herself on the couch in the living room and thumbed through a collection of DVDs before settling on Titanic. She had curled up in one corner of the couch, nestled under a fleece blanket, when she heard the front door open.

Niylah made her way into the living room quietly, smiling genuinely when she noticed Echo before carefully schooling her expression.

“Hey,” Echo murmured, hating how awkward the situation was, but completely unaware of how to fix it.

“Hi,” Niylah answered, slightly breathless. Her blonde strands were escaping her braid and she looked so tired that Echo worried for her. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” Echo answered, “Emori and Lyra just left.”

Niylah snorted, “I bet Lyra was happy, did she leave your side for even a minute?”

“Not until Emori forced her to,” Echo laughed, becoming more and more enamored with the pistol of a little girl.

“You’ve always been her favorite person,” Niylah said with a soft smile. “When she came home from the hospital, I hardly saw you for a week because you were over there helping them with her.”

“Really?” Echo still finds so much of her life unbelievable.

“Yeah,” Niylah’s voice is wistful now, tender and a little emotional. “You’ve been her primary babysitter for most of her life.”

“Wild,” Echo replies and turns her attention back to the screen which is still paused, she can’t help the outburst that follows, “Damn it! I wish I remembered  _ something! _ ”

Niylah nodded, seemingly unperturbed by Echo’s outburst. “I can only imagine what you’re going through. But you’re watching Titanic, that’s your go to movie for when you aren’t feeling well,” Niylah explained, “so there’s one thing that is the same.”

Echo laughed lowly, “Yeah, I’ve loved this movie for years. I can’t help it, it’s my -”

“-guilty pleasure,” Niylah finished for her, smiling just a little brighter. “Do you mind?” She motioned to the empty space on the couch.

“Sure,” Echo answered without even thinking, “it’s just getting to the good bits.”

~~~

Every day after they watch Titanic together was a little bit easier. After two weeks of being home Echo was able to return to work, and she and Niylah tried to find a new normal as Echo started to get to know her wife for what felt like the first time.

They made an effort to have dinner together, and Niylah patiently answered the million questions that Echo had about their history and their life together. In between, their friends took turns coming to help catch up Echo as well, and Echo found that Lyra was her favorite guest because the little girl didn’t treat Echo any differently (she didn’t know how) and she never got frustrated when Echo didn’t know the answer to a question or remember an event. 

“How did we meet?” Echo asked over dinner one night.

Niylah looked up from her food. “Through Clarke.”

“Raven’s bossy college roommate, Clarke?” Echo knew Clarke, or knows? She isn’t sure where Clarke fit into this new life, since she hadn’t seen the other woman since she woke up.

Niylah laughed, “Yes, Raven’s roommate, Clarke. She and I went out a few times, and that’s how I got introduced to Raven and then eventually you.”

Echo was amazed, she felt like she was hearing about someone else’s life secondhand, but it was undeniably her story.

“And how did we go from meeting through Clarke, to this?” Echo motioned between her and Niylah. 

“Lots of time,” Niylah answered with a smirk. “Clarke and I didn’t last long. She got another girlfriend who she married last I heard, and she wasn’t around much. But I had met you, and everyone else, and we had all become friends. So I just stayed. Eventually we got closer.”

“Huh,” Echo answered “Can I ask another question?”

“Of course,” Niylah answered, giving Echo her full attention.

“What’s with the tattoos? I’ve counted at least four. Seven years ago I was afraid of needles and convinced I’d never get a tattoo. Did Raven have something to do with this?”

Niylah laughed freely then, and Echo was surprised to realize how much she enjoyed the sound. “Yes, absolutely, Raven had quite a lot to do with your tattoos,” Niylah said. “Most of us became her semi-unwilling guinea pigs at one time or another in the last seven years. She’s been practicing on us since she got her certification, but hey, free ink.”

Echo nodded, ruminating on this knowledge while she tried to decide how to ask the next question. “What can you tell me about my tattoos? Were you with me? I assume you’ve seen them all.” Echo can’t help the rush of warmth in her cheeks.

Niylah’s expression softened. “Yes, I’ve seen them all. You have five altogether. I was with you for every one of them. And I can tell you whatever you want.”

“What does this one mean?” Echo pulled up her shirt just enough to show the bow and heart that she had looked at every day since she first discovered it in the hospital. 

Niylah sucked in a breath at either the sight of Echo’s bare skin or the tattoo, Echo wasn’t sure which “It’s, uh, it’s,” Niylah stumbled over her words, before swallowing and slowly releasing a breath and then continued, “we got them together.”

Echo was about to ask what she meant when she talked about getting tattoos together, but then Niylah lifted her shirt just slightly and in the same place as Echo’s was a matching tattoo. Well mostly matching. Niylah’s tattoo was set up the same way, with the red heart, and horizontal words in black ink, but where Echo has a vine intertwined bow Niylah has an arrow horizontally positioned and facing her middle. Echo looked closer at the words, read the phrase silently to herself and suddenly realized how much more sense her own tattoo made. “You see all my light,” Echo read out loud.

“And you love all my dark,” Niylah answered, her eyes never leaving Echo’s. “We got them on our one year anniversary. It was Raven’s present to us.”

~~~

Six weeks after she woke up in a hospital bed, with a wife she didn’t remember, Echo twitched when felt Niyah’s head rest on her shoulder.

“Shit, Echo. I’m sorry,” Niylah said and sat up straight, moving herself away from Echo.

“It’s okay,” Echo said, surprising herself, “I don’t mind.” And she didn’t. 

“You’re sure?” Niylah’s voice couldn’t hide her yearning, “It’s not too much.”

“I’m sure,” Echo realized with a buoyant feeling. For the first time, Niylah’s presence felt familiar rather than foreign.

Niylah broke into a grin that stretched from ear to ear, and laid her head back on Echo’s shoulder. 

They finished the movie without shifting their positions, and while Echo went to bed with a sore neck, she felt better than she had in weeks.

~~~

“What’s the story with this one?” Echo asked one night as they settled into the couch for what had become a nightly routine. 

Niylah peered over and noticed the tattoo Echo pointed to, laughing as she noticed it. “Oh, Bessie! That’s my favorite tattoo that you have.”

Echo rolled her eyes, “Please tell me I did not get a tattoo of a Jersey calf on my actual calf?”

“We were drunk, and it seemed like a good idea at the time, Niylah explained with a shrug.

“And why is there a speech bubble on my other leg?”

Niylah nodded, “It’s helpful for making cow puns.”

“Cow puns?” Echo asked, slightly horrified, “Am I going to regret asking this? What are cow puns?”

“When we got married, you wrote  _ I mooooo _ in the speech bubble.”

Echo groaned, “Please tell me you are not serious.”

“Totally serious,” Niylah laughed, “there are pictures in the wedding albums.”

“I was a lot cooler seven years ago,” Echo grumbled, “what happened?”

“Apparently I happened,” Niylah smirked, “and you’ve never complained before.”

~~~

When Echo woke up three months after losing her memory entirely, she immediately knew she was sick. Hurring to the bathroom, she emptied the entire contents of her stomach violently. Echo sighed in relief at the feeling of a cold cloth on the back of her neck.

“I heard you get up,” Niylah explained.

“Go back to bed, you don’t need to see this,” Echo tried to say.

“Hush,” Niylah replied, “I’m not leaving you here to deal with this. In sickness and health, remember?”

Echo didn’t remember of course, but more and more she really wished she could.

Echo spent most of the day on the couch, watching bad TV and sipping on ginger ale, and Niylah never left her side. By all accounts, it was a terrible way to spend a Saturday, but Niylah did not complain, even once. Echo hated being fussed over, preferred to deal with her pain and suffering in solitude, or at least that’s what she thought. She was surprised to realize how much she loved being cared for, and by the time she was able to eat again, she happily curled around Niylah as they picked a movie to watch.

~~~

Cooking was something Echo enjoyed in theory, although she had never been particularly good at it. Waking up in a life that she didn’t recognize had its perks, and the fully functional kitchen in her new (to her) house was a pretty decent one. Niylah had called earlier to say that a work situation would keep her a little later than normal so Echo started dinner a little later. She was chopping vegetables and idly humming along to the radio when a song came on that Echo thought felt so familiar despite being sure she had never actually heard it before. 

“Sorry, I’m late,” Niylah said softly.

Echo whirled around, clutched her chest and gasped. “Shit! I didn’t hear you.”

Niylah looked apologetic and she stepped up next to Echo, close enough that Echo could see the variety of emotions flickering across her face. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t heard me.”

“I was concentrating on this song,” Echo answered, “I swear I’ve never heard it before but it feels so damned familiar.”

Niylah closed her eyes, swallowed slowly, then looked back up to meet Echo’s eyes. “This was our wedding song, Echo. Our first dance song.”

Echo didn’t stop to think, she simply cupped Niylah’s face in her hands and kissed her softly.

~~~

“I never thought I’d say this,” Niylah whispered as she traced a finger lazily up Echo’s arm, “but I’m glad you smacked your head and lost seven years of your memory.”

“Oh you are, are you?” Echo laughed, squirming when Niylah hit a particularly ticklish spot.

“Absolutely. I got to watch the woman I love fall in love with me, twice,” Niylah answered. “How many people can say that?”

“Probably none,” Echo said with a giggle, then her voice got more serious. “For real, though. Are you upset that we’ve basically lost a year of our lives to me trying to play catch up?”

Niylah turned to look Echo in the eye, “Upset? Not a chance. I’m more in love with you now than I ever was before. If nothing else, this has taught me to appreciate every day that we get.”

Echo wiped at her eyes, trying to keep the tears at bay, and with the movement she caught sight of the fresh tattoo on her wrist. She smiled at the tiny compass tattoo, which had been Niylah’s idea at the reception of their vow renewal ceremony a week earlier. 

“Thank you,” Echo said looping an arm around Niylah’s waist, “for never giving up on me.”


End file.
